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By Matt Rocheleau, Boston.com Staff

A female Boston University student was grabbed and struck in the face by a man wearing a ski mask and gloves who came up behind her Sunday night while she was walking along a Brookline street near campus, school officials said.

The alleged attack, while police described as an attempted robbery, happened on Amory Street at about 10 p.m. Sunday, according to the university’s news website BU Today.

The suspect did not appear to be armed, authorities said.

The man attacked the student after he got out of a light-colored Honda Pilot SUV with a dent on the driver’s side that was parked behind where she was walking, officials said. She screamed, which got the attention of dog walkers in Knyvet Park and prompted the assailant to run away.

The SUV the man was in just before the attack then drove past the student and parked around the corner on Thatcher Street, officials said. The man ran to the vehicle and got into the front passenger seat.

Nothing was stolen during the attack.

The man was described as being about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and having a medium build. He was wearing baggy blue jeans, a black hooded sweatshirt with the hood up and gloves, officials said.

The case is being investigated by the Brookline Police Department and the BU Police Department, which plans to add extra patrols in that area over the next few nights.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact either Brookline Police at (617) 730-2222 or the Boston University Police at 617-353-2121, officials said.

Police advised students to: be aware of their surroundings; not wear headphones or talk or text on a cell phone at night; avoid walking alone; avoid poorly lit areas; and, at the first sign of trouble, to dial 911 or BU Police at 617-353-2121.